A personal wireless area network (WPAN) is a network used for communication among computing devices (for example, telephones and personal digital assistants) close to one person. The devices may or may not belong to the person in question. The reach of a WPAN may be a few meters. WPANs may be used for interpersonal communication among the personal devices themselves, or for connecting via an uplink to a higher level network and for example the Internet.
The IEEE 802.15.3 Task Group 3c (TG3c) was formed in March 2005. TG3c is developing a millimeter-wave (mmWawe) based alternative physical layer (PPHY) for the existing 802.15.3 Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) Standard e.g., IEEE 802.15.3-2003. This mmWave WPAN may operate in a band including 57-64 GHz unlicensed band defined by FCC 47 CFR 15.255. The millimeter-wave WPAN may allow very high data rate over 2 Gigabit per second (Gbps) applications such as high speed Internet access, streaming content download (e.g., video on demand, high-definition television (HDTV), home theater, etc.), real time streaming and wireless data bus for cable replacement.
However, a mmWave communication link is significantly less robust than those at lower frequencies (e.g. 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands) due to both oxygen absorption and high attenuation through obstructions. In addition, the mmWave communication link may use a directional antenna and/or antennas array to increase the communication range. The use of a directional antenna makes a link very sensitive to mobility. For example, a slight change in the orientation of the device or the movement of a nearby object and/or person may disrupt the link.
Applications for mmWave frequencies are expected to enjoy variable bit rate (VBR) type of traffic, for example, compressed wireless display, certain external input/output (I/O), and Internet type of traffic and the like. The methods that are used for bandwidth management include using a network coordinator or controller (e.g., piconet coordinator (PNC)) which cause to increased power consumption of the devices and PNC.
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